Karen Blue, from the family owned Penrose Funerals, will attend the world’s largest funeral industry trade show in Boston in October, after winning the 2017 Australian Funeral Director’s Association (AFDA) National Scholarship.

Judges in the scholarship were impressed by Karen’s ingenious and fresh consideration of the future of funerals and what this might look like for the families they serve.

“Personalising the farewell makes it more meaningful for those left behind and really helps in the grieving process,” she said.

“Families need to feel empowered when arranging funerals and to guide them, we need a sound understanding of what is important to them.”

“I believe that funeral services in the future will become even more individual. We will see services held in a variety of places and for some families, technology will be heavily involved.”